Beautiful Dreamer
by Dreamweaving
Summary: Watanuki awakens to find he's been in a coma for five years. Things have changed. He's missed a lot. But someone is still by his side after all this time. Eventual WatanukiDoumeki. Shonen ai. BoyBoy love. AUish.
1. One

I was going to wait until I fully finished writing this fic before I posted anything. But I'm good at changing my mind. So this story is still in the works. But I'm excited about sharing it so I decided to post the first chapter to tease you all. The next one probaly won't be up until I have at least seven chapters done. I have five currently and happen to know exactly what I'm doing with it and my muse is happily spitting out inspiration.

This is actualy only half of what was original the first chapter. I decided to split it.

I need to give special thanks to my beta, Porticulis. Thankies, Porti-San! (Huggles) You are wonderful!

* * *

As he came into consciousness, he could hear the soft beeping of some kind of machine. Other than that, there was no noise. He lay there, eyes closed, trying to remember where he was. He had been walking home from school with Doumeki and Himawari-chan. Himawari-chan was laughing and telling them about a cafe she'd been to.

And then....

What?

.....And then he had heard the screech of tires and the sound of a car sliding across the pavement. Himawari-chan's scream. Not of pain- of terror. And Doumeki....

Doumeki had screamed too. Doumeki had screamed his name.

Then there was pain and darkness.

So then, he must either be in heaven or a hospital.

He opened his eyes and saw the white ceiling above him, and he could see part of a light fixture too. Turning his head to the left he saw some kind of machine. Numbers and lines and other strange things he couldn't understand were on it. It was the source of the beeping.

A hospital then. Turning his head to the right he caught the eyes of a nurse who had just entered the room. She seemed startled. Her mouth formed an 'o' of surprise.

"Oh my.... you're awake." She said, blinking. "Oh... wait one moment. I'll fetch the doctor."

_"Such shock,"_ he thought to himself. "_I must have come pretty close this time. Himawari-chan will have been so worried, and Doumeki will be angry. He'll say I was an idiot for just standing there like that. It wasn't like I had enough time to move or anything. But..."_

He snapped out of his reverie as the nurse re-entered, followed by a young man in a white coat. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail, friendly dark eyes and glasses perched on the end of his nose.

He offered Watanuki a small smile before he began checking the readings on the machine. Watanuki tried to smile back but his face felt a little stiff. He worked his jaw back and forth to try and loosen it up a bit.

The doctor finished marking down some notes on his clipboard and turned back to face him.

"Is something wrong with your jaw?" The doctor asked.

Watanuki shook his head. "It's just a little stiff."

His voice sounded a bit strange. A little deeper than he remembered, but he brushed it off as being caused by a dry throat.

"That's to be expected." The doctor said. "I'm Dr. Kyle Rondart, by the way." He offered his hand which Watanuki shook.

There was a pause before Dr. Rondart spoke again. "Do you remember what happened?"

Watanuki nodded. "Yeah. I was walking home from school and there was an accident. I got hit by a car, right?"

"Yes," replied. "You were pretty badly injured and you slipped into a coma."

Watanuki felt a chill go through his body. "A coma?" He whispered. "For how long?"

"You've been in a coma for five years." admitted.

The sheer shock of the hard reality dumbfounded him. "Five years?"

"We weren't sure you would ever wake up."

Watanuki felt his throat constricting. Five years. He'd been in a coma for five full years.

His life had been passing by while he slept. Everyone he had known would have had kept on with their lives. Himawari-Chan would be an adult now! Doumeki too! Kohane-chan would be a teenager!

He allowed himself to slide back down onto the bed, feeling weary and frightened.

"It's a lot to register," Dr. Rondart comforted gently.

Watanuki just closed his eyes. He wanted to wake up now. He wanted to wake up for real to find that he'd only been out a week or so. He wanted to open his eyes and see Himawari-chan or Kohane-chan or Yuko-san or even Doumeki standing by his bed.

He felt his whole body begin to shake, but no tears were coming.

The last thing he heard was Dr. Rondart's voice murmuring distantly. "Let's give him something to sedate him for a little while."

And then he was asleep again.

* * *

Remember to review. They make me smile.


	2. Two

Here's part two. When you see how long it is compared to how long my stuff usually is, you'll see why I decided to split it in two. And to answer Nightblue's question, he is there because I am too lazy to create my own doctor so I kidnapped the nice little pre-made one Clamp gave us in Tsubasa. He's not important. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

* * *

Voices. Hushed and subdued.

As he drifted back towards consciousness, he recognized the voice of Dr. Rondart. Not a dream then.

The other voice was male. Deep. Familiar somehow.

"He was visibly shaken up by the news, but that's to be expected." Dr. Rondart was saying.

"Of course." The other voice replied. "But he is awake, right? He was conscious? Aware of his surroundings?"

"Yes. A little disoriented, but otherwise fine."

"But he'll be okay?"

"It'll take some time to see if there were any mental side-effects. We'll have to run some tests, and he's going to have some emotional issues to work out, but that's to be expected. Physically, he's perfectly healthy though."

He opened his eyes as the stranger breathed a sigh of relief. Who would be so concerned over him? He didn't have any relatives...

The face he saw was both familiar and strange. It was the same face and yet it was not the same face. But the eyes were the same.

"Doumeki?" He whispered.

Both men turned their eyes to him.

Doumeki moved over to stand by the bedside. "So you finally decided to wake up." He stated. His voice had deepened. His lips twinged to reveal a hint of a smirk. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Sleeping Beauty."

Watanuki could feel the familiar annoyance bubbling up inside, and with it, relief. Five years had passed. Things had changed. Doumeki looked older and strange. But on the inside, it seemed, he was still Doumeki.

Dr. Rondart slipped out of the room to give them privacy.

"Stupid jerk," he muttered, "you have no manners, insulting someone who's missed out on five full years of his life."

He said it because he was relieved to find something normal and familiar amid the craziness, but Doumeki didn't seem to find any humor in it. "Yeah," he echoed, "five full years."

Watanuki looked away and took a deep breath and braced himself for what had to follow.

"Thank you," he whispered, "for still being around."

He started to turn back, expecting a repeat of the last time he'd thanked Doumeki. Expecting to find Doumeki trying to get a glimpse of whatever stupid expression he had on his face.

Instead, Doumeki had moved in to wrap his arms around him. Watanuki stiffened, taken off guard by the sudden intimacy. It seemed very un-Doumeki-like.

_"He's grown up," _Watanuki's inner voice reminded him. _"Who knows how much he'd changed since then, and you're still the same. On the inside at least."_

Watanuki awkwardly hugged him back, his face pressed into the soft fabric of Doumeki's shirt. When the moment passed, Doumeki pulled back and moved to sit in a chair by the bed.

_"It's awkward,"_Watanuki realized. _"It's so awkward now. What do I say?"_

He wracked his brain and found a decent topic to begin with. "How's Kohane-chan?"

"She's fifteen now. She's in high school." He paused, thinking. "She has a boyfriend."

Watanuki felt his eyes widen. "Kohane-chan has a BOYFRIEND?"

Doumeki nodded. "I don't like him."

That made Watanuki laugh. He hadn't expected that.

"What about Yuuko-san?" He asked.

"Still the same," Doumeki replied.

"I guess that's to be expected." Watanuki sighed. "Yuko-san will probably always be Yuuko-san no matter how much time passes." He paused as he realized the next subject was one which he dreaded to bring up. He forced himself to ask.

"... and Himawari-Chan?"

Doumeki seemed as unsure about answering as Watanuki had been of asking, but he seemed to decide he couldn't keep it a secret.

"Kunogi got married last spring. She's expecting a baby soon."

Watanuki felt a terrible pain in his chest. Unbidden tears wavered in his eyes. He averted his face to spare himself Doumeki's scrutiny.

They sat for several moments in silence until Watanuki pulled himself together and turned back. He forced a smile. "I'm happy for her," and was surprised to find that he meant it. He loved her so much and if she was happy, then he was too, even with this pain.

Doumeki wasn't looking at him.

"... is it you?" Watanuki asked, feeling the pain in his chest grow. He didn't know if he could handle that.

"No," Doumeki said firmly.

Watanuki paused, wondering if he should push it any further, then decided that he needed to know everything. "Are you married? Or seeing someone?"

"No," More softly this time. His eyes turned back to meet Watanuki's. "But I am in love."

Watanuki grinned. He couldn't help it. The thought of Doumeki falling in love was strange and funny. "As picky as you are? You rejected every girl in school at least once- and some twice. I can't imagine you being in love."

"So, what's she like? Where did you meet her? Have you even told her how you feel?" the questions seemed to just spill forth.

Doumeki looked a bit taken aback but answered, steadily.

"You'll have plenty of time to hear all about that. For now you should relax."

"I've been relaxing," Watanuki muttered, leaning back against the pillows. "I want to know everything. I want to catch up."

"There's plenty of time," Doumeki repeated, firmly, then added in a softer tone, "I promise to answer all your questions. But you're going to have to take it slow. I don't want to overload you with five years worth of information all at once."

Watanuki sighed in defeat and looked away. He didn't want to admit he was tired again...

"Okay. Fine," he relented. "But I just have one last question."

He settled back to relax and looked back to Doumeki. "Once I'm out of here, where am I supposed to go?"

He hated how worried and frightened he sounded, but he'd come to realize that his apartment was probably leased to new tenants. He had no money, no job... He hadn't finished high school. Where could he possibly go?

He expected Doumeki to echo these thoughts, but it seemed that Doumeki had already thought it all out, probably during the five years Watanuki had spent comatose.

"You'll stay with me at the shrine until you're back on your feet," he answered smoothly.

Watanuki didn't reply. Sleep had claimed him once again.

* * *

Remember to review and let me know what you think. Reviews make me smile which makes me update faster!


	3. Three

So here is the next chapter. I know I'm slow. But I'm making sure I don't wind up on hiatus. I have six or seven done. (Not entirely sure.) and I'm waiting on some to be beta'd. But I'm having trouble with the current chapter. Mostly because I'm tired. I'm up ubber late roleplaying. I'm putting the link to the RP on my BIO if anyone's interested. It's multi-fandom and fun. You can choose to be involved with plots or not. I usually opt for not because I'm more for just playing around and goofing off. And the pace is decent so if you leave for like, two weeks, your not really out of the loop. I am shamelessly pimping. Because I love it. And I will pimp it as much as I can. lol

In any case, this story WILL be finished. I will write it all and I will post it all and I will not let you down this time! I just may take some time between updates because I'm not finished yet and I wanna make sure I CAN still post something. Once it's finished, you can look forward to probably a chapter a week. So keep that in mind while you deal with my erratic updating.

* * *

Watanuki stared at the face looking back from the mirror at him. It was still his face. Those were still his mismatched eyes that stared back at him from behind his glasses. He was looking at his own nose, mouth, chin... but he could tell he was older. The strangest part was his hair.

"I need a haircut," he muttered, fingering the dark locks.

The nurse, who was removing the sheets from the bed, looked up and smiled at him. "Your hair is really nice. All of the younger nurses are so jealous of it."

"We just haven't gotten around to cutting it again yet," she added, apologetically.

Watanuki turned away from the mirror. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Go right ahead." She replied, standing up and turning to look at him.

"While I was here... did anyone come to visit me?"

"Yes! Of course!" The nurse answered. "Let's see... there was a cute young girl with blonde hair. I think she said her name was Kohane. And then there was Yuko-San. Oh, we always talked every time she came. She was a lot of fun to chat with." She stopped and thought for a moment. "Oh. And that nice young man, Doumeki-San. He was always coming here to see you. I know I saw him here at least three times a week the entire time you were here."

Watanuki sat down in one of the chairs in the room. "Really? Doumeki was?"

"Oh yeah." She said, returning to putting new sheets on the bed. "They all came to see you quite often of course. I just remembered him being here a lot. All the younger nurses couldn't stop talking about him. Some of them even tried a little flirting. But the only thing he seemed concerned with was you. I'd see him sitting there by your bedside all the time."

Watanuki allowed the information to sink in.

She gathered the dirty sheets into her arms. "Well, you'll have to excuse me. I have to get back to work."

Watanuki blinked and gave her a grateful smile. "Goodbye then. Thank you for answering my questions."

"No problem." She replied, stepping out of the room. She turned to smile at him one more time. "Goodbye."

Watanuki sighed and stretched his arms out in front of himself. _"There's still a lot to adjust to; a lot to catch up on, to get used to."_

The sound of footsteps approaching drew his gaze up towards the image of Doumeki and Dr. Rondart stepping into the room.

"Everything is taken care of." Dr. Rondart said. "You are free to go now."

Watanuki stood up. "Really?"

"Mmm-hmm. You'll have to come back for a check-up in about two weeks. But other than that, you're all done."

He shifted his clipboard under his arm. "Do you have any questions before you go?"

Watanuki shook his head. Dr. Rondart held out his hand and Watanuki shook it.

"Now, make sure you take it easy for a while. Your body is going to need to adjust to being active again. You could hurt yourself if you try to do too much too soon."

"Got it," Watanuki replied shortly.

"Goodbye, then." Dr. Rondart said, turning to leave.

"Goodbye."

It was just Doumeki and him now.

"Ready?" Doumeki wanted to know.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Watanuki took a deep breath and followed Doumeki out of the room.


	4. Four

This chapter is dedicated to Twelf Bell, AKA:Sei-Chan who is made of awesome sauce.

This one's out pretty soon because I'm in a good mood and I just got two more chapters back from my beta. I will not be posting again until I get at least two more chapters done. But I'm super inspired so hopefully it won't be too long.

Thankyou to everyone who's reviewed so far. You made me very happy!

EDIT:Fixed the issue where it repeats! Sorry! Dunno how it happened. o.o Thanks to everyone for pointing it out.

* * *

Doumeki opened the door, kicked off his shoes and entered. Watanuki followed suit, stepping into the dimly lit entryway.

Doumeki led the way into a bedroom. When Watanuki came into the room he paused, eyes widening.

"This is..." He turned to Doumeki, "All my things. Why is all this here?"

"Did you think I'd just let it all get thrown out?"

"I don't know. I mean... I guess I didn't really think about it." He admitted. He made his way to the bed and sat down on the end. "So this is my room?"

Doumeki nodded and moved towards the door. "If you need anything I'll be out front."

Watanuki waited until he was gone before sprawling out onto the bed. It was soft and comfortable. Much better than his old futon had been. He grabbed the pillow and pulled it into his arms as he rolled onto his side.

"I can do this." He mumbled to himself. "I can adapt. I'm good at adapting."

He lay there, arms curled around the pillow, face snuggled against it for a while. Then he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and turned his head and looked at the clock. "It's nearing six o'clock... I wonder if Doumeki has had dinner yet..."

He got up and headed for the kitchen.

He checked the refrigerator, shelves and cupboards, taking note of everything he had to work with. Then he found an apron hanging on the wall by the door and put it on. "I'll make beef teriyaki," he decided, gathering everything he would need for the task.

He filled a pan with water, setting the stove eye at high heat as he waited for it to fill, and placed it on the stove to boil. Then he prepared the beef, slicing it into thin pieces. Once that was done, he grabbed a mixing bowl and began stirring the cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic together. By the time he was done the water had started boiling so he reduced the heat and added the rice.

"About twenty minutes ought to do it..." He muttered, clicking a second stove eye up to medium heat. He left the beef to sauté. As he waited for that, he went in search of plates.

He didn't even notice Doumeki had entered the kitchen drawn in by the smell of the food, until he turned to place the plates on the table.

"You're supposed to be taking it easy," Doumeki pointed out, taking the plates from Watanuki's hands.

"I'm fine." Watanuki retorted, rolling his eyes. "I think I'm healthy enough to prepare dinner. Besides, if I left it up to you to cook who knows what would happen."

Doumeki didn't reply. Instead, he set the plates on the table and moved in towards the stove.

"Oh no you don't!" Watanuki growled, stepping in front of him. "Your not sneaking a taste before it's done!"

To Watanuki's surprise, Doumeki lifted him and moved him to the side with ease before advancing on the still-cooking food and lifting the lid on the pot.

"Hey, what did I just tell you?" Watanuki grumbled, grabbing Doumeki's wrist. "You can wait a few more minutes, you big dummy!"

Doumeki still moved his arm effortlessly, as though Watanuki's grip had no effect on him. He lifted a spoonful of the rice up to his mouth.

_"Great. The big oaf has gotten stronger. Just perfect."_

When he turned back, Doumeki was taking the food up.

"Sit down." He said, nudging a chair out with his foot as he served the meal.

Blinking in surprise, Watanuki did as he was told, sitting down in the offered chair.

"For your information I do know how to cook a little," Doumeki said, setting the pans back on the stove and taking a seat beside him, "although yours is better."

Watanuki frowned. "Don't tease me, you jerk."

"I'm not teasing." Doumeki replied, taking a bite. "I mean it."

"You never once told me you liked my cooking before," Watanuki muttered, moving the food around on his plate.

"Things change," Doumeki answered.

After that, they ate their dinner in silence.

_

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_


	5. Five

Sooo, I have nine chapters finished. And I was so happy to actually finish eight and nine and get them sent out that I popped in to update. Sorry there hasn't really been anything fluffy and warm between our two boys yet. Don't worry. It's coming. Hang in there.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. :D

Also, HOLY FLYING APPLESAUCE I NEARLY POSTED THE WRONG CHAPTER! O.O

* * *

Watanuki let out a muffled protest that went unheard as Yuko hugged him just a bit too tightly, and enthusiastically, than was necessary. Which, as it happened, was typical Yuko. Entirely far too over the top was her usual way.

As she backed up, keeping her hands on his shoulders, she looked him up and down. "You really did turn out to be quite cute, didn't you? I just knew you would!" She reached up and tugged on his hair a little, playfully. "You look just like a life-size doll!"

Watanuki tugged free of her grip, but he couldn't help but smile. "It's good to see you, Yuko-san."

While much of what he had known had inevitably changed, Yuko was still exactly as he remembered her. From her extremely long dark hair to her ridiculous taste in outfits.

Yes, indeed, Yuko would **always **be Yuko. No matter how much time passed, so it seemed.

"You're not planning to cut it are you?" She asked, lifting a ribbon of his hair in her fingertips.

"Well of course I'm going to cut it," Watanuki replied, frowning.

She wagged a finger at him in warning. "Don't you dare! I'll never forgive you if you do!"

"Yuko-san, don't be difficult!" He growled at her. "I'm not a girl you know! I'm cutting it and that's that!"

She completely ignored him, sighing dreamily. "I'm going to have such fun with your hair..."

"No! Didn't you even hear me? I'm cutting it! I'm not going to keep it long just so you can play with it!"

"Watanuki, now that you're back I won't have to get my own sake!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands and grinning at him, obviously finished with the topic of Watanuki's hair. "And I've missed your cooking so much!"

The way she carried on made it seem as though no time had passed at all.

He sighed, and found himself being lead to a chair.

"I don't want to sit down." He protested as Doumeki pulled the chair out, before sitting down anyway. "I'm perfectly capable of deciding when I need to rest."

"If someone didn't make you rest then you probably wouldn't." Doumeki replied, handing him a glass of fruit juice.

Watanuki grumbled under his breath and ignored the offered cup until Doumeki gave up and sat it on the table instead.

They were at Yuko's shop for a special "Welcome Home Watanuki!" party, which so far included a mere gathering of himself, Doumeki, Yuko, Maru, Moro and Mokona. The last three were happily running around in the yard, obviously having a good time. He couldn't help but smile as he watched them play.

"Ah! Here comes Kohane-chan and Akira-kun now." Yuko said, causing Watanuki to look up to see the two people who were stepping up onto the porch to join them.

Was that young woman really Kohane-chan? She really had grown up.

"Kimihiro-kun... I'm so very glad..." she murmured, leaning in and hugging him gently.

"Kohane-chan..." he mumbled, returning the hug. As she pulled back he gave her the brightest smile he could manage. "Look at you... You look great."

She blushed a little and turned to the boy, who was looking a bit sulky. "This is Akira-Kun."

"I'm her boyfriend," Akira declared. Watanuki couldn't help but notice that Akira kept glancing at Doumeki warily and that Doumeki was purposely ignoring the boy in return.

Kohane moved to Doumeki and took his hand, giving him a smile too. Doumeki squeezed her hand gently. It seemed as though there were something that passed silently between the two before she let go of his hand and moved to clasp Akira's hand instead. That seemed to cheer him up a bit.

"Let's get you two something to eat then. Come on in," Yuko invited, opening the door and leading the two teens towards the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" Doumeki asked.

"Not really," Watanuki answered, picking up his glass and taking a sip. "And if I do get hungry I'm perfectly capable of getting myself something." he added.

Doumeki stood up and followed Yuko into the kitchen, leaving Watanuki alone at the table.

"Watanuki-kun?" A soft voice questioned, hesitantly.

Watanuki felt his heart skip a beat as he turned quickly, recognizing the voice.

"H-Himawari-chan!"

She smiled at him warmly as she came across the porch towards him. She no longer wore her hair in long curly pony tails. Instead it was hanging loosely down her back. Her stomach protruded in front of her. She looked as though she had a beach ball under her shirt, and Watanuki couldn't keep the surprise from his face.

Himawari laughed as she came to a stop a few feet away. "I know, I'm so big!" She exclaimed.

Watanuki hurriedly stood up and pulled out a chair for her, helping her into it. "Thank you..." She murmured. "But you really didn't have to..."

Watanuki reclaimed his own seat, turning it so he could speak to her. "You look great, Himawari-chan." He insisted. "Really, you do."

She froze, her eyes taking on a sadness as her smile faded a bit. "Did Doumeki-kun tell you...?"

He worked hard to keep his own smile. "Yes. I'm really happy for you, Himawari-chan! I just wish I could have been there when you got married!"

She searched his expression concernedly for a moment before contentment warmed the smile that returned along her lips. "But now that you're awake you'll get to see the baby when it's born! Ah, do you want to feel her kick?"

Watanuki blinked in surprise, then nodded. He reached out his hand and lay it palm down on her stomach. His eyes widened as almost immediately, something moved against his touch. He pulled his hand back, startled.

Himawari laughed at his expression. "She kicks pretty hard, doesn't she?"

He nodded. Then for a moment, there was silence.

"I'm glad you woke up. The doctors said that the more time that passed, the less chance you would..." She shook her head as though trying to clear it. "They told us that you might not ever wake up. And that if you did...."

He reached out and grabbed her hand. "But I'm fine, Himawari-chan."

She gently pulled her hand free and Watanuki wondered if he were crossing the line.

"I... are you hungry?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Actually, yes, I am. It feels like I'm always hungry these days." She replied, moving to stand.

"No. Just sit right there. I'll get you a plate," he insisted, getting up and entering the shop before she could protest.

He closed the door behind him and stood there for a moment, taking a deep breath. _"She's married now. Keep that in mind,"_ he told himself.

He stood there for a little longer before gathering himself to get Himawari's plate.

* * *

R&R my friends. R&R. :D


	6. Six

Mmm... With summer over and school starting for some of you, I decided a nice treat was in order. So, I have decided to share this chapter a bit earlier than I was planning. And... The first real taste of 104 in this fic comes your way. Don't expect too much though. It's only a taste. :D Remember to review~! All your words of encouragement keep me going strong and writing like a happy little fic-writer should.

* * *

The party was over and the guests gone. And Watanuki was sitting on the sofa, his head tilted to one side, fast asleep.

"Wore himself out, I see," Yuko remarked, grinning.

"I don't think he understands the meaning of taking it easy." Doumeki replied, gazing down at the slumbering young man. He'd spent far too much time watching Watanuki sleep over the years. You'd think he'd be sick of it, but this was different from before. This was better, because Watanuki would definitely be waking up from this sleep.

"You'd better get him home." Yuko said. "It's getting late. He should sleep in his bed, not sitting up on my sofa."

Doumeki nodded and stepped forward, gently getting his arms under the young man. Watanuki's head tilted to lean against Doumeki's upper arm as he was lifted from the sofa. As Doumeki turned, he found Yuko giving him an amused look.

"I know what you are about to say. You just don't want to wake him, am I right?"

Doumeki merely stared at her, his expression blank.

Yuko waved her hand at him, grinning. "Just get going, okay? Make sure you get him back safe and sound."

Doumeki nodded and made his way to the exit.

* * *

Watanuki first became aware of the fact that he was floating. It was a strange feeling. Like there was nothing beneath him. Then he realized this wasn't true. Something was holding him up. Gently. Kindly. Lovingly.

He opened his eyes to find himself staring at the fabric of someone's shirt. Shifting his gaze upwards he saw Doumeki's face, lit by the moonlight.

_"So gentle...." _He thought, his mind still clouded from sleep. _"I didn't know Doumeki could be this gentle..."_

His eyelids fluttered closed again for a moment before opening once again as he came to the realization of what he'd just thought and who was carrying him.

"H-Hey! Put me down!" He insisted. He didn't struggle, afraid of being dropped.

Doumeki didn't speak, merely looked down and smirked. Instead of lowering Watanuki to the ground, he lifted him a bit higher. Watanuki found himself clutching at Doumeki's shirt, afraid of falling. He felt his cheeks warm a bit. "Are you listening?"

"We're almost there. Just relax."

"I can walk! I have legs!" Watanuki retorted, glaring up at the archer.

He looked around to realize they were crossing the shrine grounds. "Look, just put me down already! We're not **almost **there! We **are** there!"

Doumeki fully ignored Watanuki's protests, walking up the few steps to the front door. Here he stopped to lower Watanuki's legs to the ground. Unstable for a moment, Watanuki grabbed Doumeki's shoulders to steady himself, giving Doumeki time to unlock the front door and push it open. Then Watanuki was lifted again.

"This is ridiculous!" Watanuki growled as Doumeki walked through the front door and kicked it closed with his foot. "Put me down right now, Doumeki!"

Doumeki kicked off his shoes and made his way to Watanuki's bedroom door which was slightly ajar. He pushed it open with his foot and walked in, heading for the bed where he finally set Watanuki down for good, lowering him onto the mattress.

"You just enjoy terrorizing me, don't you?" Watanuki grumbled.

Doumeki shrugged as he turned on the light. "You're supposed to take it easy- which you didn't do all day. Hence, your punishment."

"Punishment?!" Watanuki hissed.

Doumeki kneeled down and started to remove Watanuki's shoes, startling him. "H-hey! I can d-do that myself!"

Doumeki tossed the shoes aside, casually. "Arghhhhhhhh! Don't do that! You're such a slob!"

Doumeki raised his head and Watanuki felt his heart skip a beat at the intense look the archer was giving him. His breath hitched as Doumeki reached up and gently brushed a lock of hair from Watanuki's face. The touch was warm and sent a pleasant little chill down his spine. Doumeki raised himself up a bit, his face inching closer to Watanuki's until their noses nearly touched. Doumeki cupped Watanuki's chin and moved his lips in towards Watanuki's, but paused just short of touching.

_"What is this...?" _Watanuki thought, feeling his face warm up. _"Is he going to...kiss me?"_

"Goodnight." Doumeki whispered, pulling back abruptly and moving into a standing position. He paused in the doorway and looked over his shoulder. "Pleasant dreams." Then he stepped out and pulled the door closed behind himself.

Watanuki sat there, stunned and confused as to what had just occurred. He lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Slowly he brought his hand up to hover over the place on his cheek where Doumeki had touched him. His face was warm to the touch and still getting warmer.

_"Am I embarrassed? But why? It was just Doumeki! There's no reason for me to be feeling this way!"_

He removed his glasses and set them on the bedside table, turned off the light with a click, and rolled onto his side, though he didn't know if he'd be able to get to sleep with the new thoughts and feelings he was having.

* * *


	7. Seven

Here's chapter seven. Sorry I took so long. I had some issues with my disc freaking out and not letting me retrieve this chapter from it. Thank God I saved the e-mail containing it from when my beta sent the edited version back to me. It'll be a while before the next one is up. Waiting on my beta. And I need to get a new disc before I can write any more. (I write on a computer with no net access and transfer through use of a disc to one that has net access.) But I'm not dropping it. Please be patient with me.

Before you read though, I've been getting several questions repeated to me and thought I'd answer them here to avoid having to repeat myself later.

1)Concerning Himawari's curse. This is an AU, and for my own reasons I used this fact to change things a little. My ideas involved her being married and so I had to find a way to cure her curse. But there was nothing coming and I already had a LOT that needed to be explained in this story. So I chose to remove her curse from the story entirely. In this universe she doesn't have it. It was necessary.

2)Concerning Himawari's husband. Yes, you'll see him. I made him up, just like Kohane's boyfriend. Himawari met him later on. So Watanuki's not met him yet.

3)Concerning the coma. Yes, those who slip into a coma DO suffer worse than what Watanuki is dealing with. I had to take the fictional route because the things I learned about comas were rather depressing. I will however explain later in the story why things occurred in such a manner. I'm not going to let the matter drop without an explanation. Just wait for it. I promise not to leave you wondering about it.

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"So, tell me about her."

Doumeki looked up from his breakfast. "What?"

Watanuki nudged a sausage around on his plate, not looking up. "Tell me about her. The girl you're in love with. You said you'd answer all my questions, remember?"

Watanuki had thought about a lot of things before he'd fallen asleep the previous night, and he'd decided that he had imagined the whole thing because Doumeki had told him already that he was in love with a girl. Therefore the events from the past night must have been some very weird and vivid dream. A nightmare, really.

Doumeki was giving Watanuki an intense stare.

"Well?" Watanuki persisted.

"Are you stupid?"

Watanuki felt irritation well up inside. "What do you mean by that?! Of course I'm not stupid! You are the stupid one here! I asked a simple question! Can't you just answer it and stop acting like a complete moron!"

Doumeki sighed, looking a bit annoyed himself. He closed his eyes, seemingly trying to calm himself before he spoke. "I never said there was a girl."

Watanuki felt confused. "What? Yes you did! Back in the hospital I distinctly remember you telling me you were in love!"

"Yes. I did." Doumeki stated, calmly.

"Then logically there has to be a girl!" Watanuki insisted, then he paused. "Unless...." He froze, his lips forming an 'o' of suprise. "It's.... it's a guy?"

"You're really dense, you know that?" Doumeki said, shaking his head.

Watanuki's eyes widened and he felt his cheeks heat up again. Last night's events replayed in his head, and he came to the startling realization that not only had he not imagined the whole thing, but also that it must have honestly meant something.

"Don't tell me..." Watanuki started, his voice shaking a little. "I swear if you tell me that you meant me...." He couldn't finish the sentence. It honestly wasn't like the idea horrified him. It was the fact that it **didn't **horrify him that horrified him!

"I was hoping to keep it from you a bit longer." Doumeki admitted. "I wanted you to be back on your own two feet first. I don't want to scare you off when you don't have any other place to go."

"Well don't you think molesting me was a bit counterproductive to that idea?!" Watanuki retorted.

"You're actually taking this surprisingly well." Doumeki remarked, ignoring Watanuki's comment. "I expected you to scream louder and flail. Maybe throw something at my head. Storm out."

"I'm not a kid! I can handle this like a rational adult!" Watanuki retorted, crossing his arms. He looked down at his plate again. "I mean... it's like you say. There isn't anywhere else...."

Doumeki frowned, but before he could say anything, Watanuki was looking back up at him and speaking again.

"I guess everything makes sense now... I mean, the nurse said you spent a lot of time visiting me. You were there shortly after I woke up. You already had it planned that I should stay with you, if and when I woke up. And last night...." He paused and took a deep breath, looking away.

"It won't happen again." Doumeki stated, calmly. "I'm not going to try to win you over or convince you that you should give me a chance. I just want you to stay here until you're able to get out on your own again. That's all."

"I didn't say I was going anywhere." Watanuki replied. "And I didn't say I was upset about last night."

Doumeki looked startled. "Oh?"

"Don't get any stupid ideas though!" Watanuki shouted, turning his head to glare at Doumeki. "I didn't say I liked it either, you big pervert!"

Doumeki smirked. "But you didn't dislike it either."

"I--I just happen to be a very open-minded person!" Watanuki insisted. "It's nothing to do with liking or disliking! I'm merely saying that I'm keeping an open mind and if something actually comes of this, then it does and if it doesn't it doesn't!"

"But you're accepting the possibility of a relationship between us?" Doumeki asked. He was finding that he was very shocked by this turnout. It was the last thing he would have expected.

"What happened to your 'I'm not going to try to win you over' speech?" Watanuki responded, giving Doumeki a triumphant smirk. "That was a big fat lie! You want me to like you back! I'm not stupid you know!"

Doumeki sighed. "You know, you're very noisy. There's no need to shout about all of this."

"I'll be as noisy as I like, thank you very much!"

"Calm down, will you? You'll overexert yourself and end up back in the hospital."

Hearing the concern in Doumeki's voice, Watanuki held back his explosive retort. He took a deep, calming breath and sat back in his chair.

Suddenly he was aware of just how awkward that entire conversation had been. He'd been so caught up in everything that it was only now that he realized he'd basically agreed to give a relationship with Doumeki a chance. His face was once again burning with heat, whilst Doumeki watched him with a smirk.

Watanuki childishly flicked a little piece of his scrambled egg at him in his frustration, causing Doumeki to laugh.

_"I think I'm getting in too deep, here..."_

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	8. Eight

Uwah! Here's chapter eight. Enjoy!

EDIT:I feel I should give special mentions to werepire, James Birdsong, SilverMoon888, Miss41104, Hexwrench, cookies?, Cahar, HAIRI, qyolover1 and Di Long. Since your all annonomous I can't reply to your reviews, but I wanted to let you know how happy they make me.

* * *

Watanuki spent the rest of the day glancing over his shoulder and peeping around corners and doorframes before entering each room, watching for Doumeki wherever he went. He didn't really know what to expect from the other man at this point.

_'I basically told him I'd give a relationship a try! What was I thinking?!'_

His heart leapt into his throat as a hand came down on his shoulder. He spun around and backed a good two feet away. Doumeki raised an eyebrow as he gave his high school friend a bemused look. "Something wrong?"

"No! Nothing's wrong!"

"Then why are you sneaking around like a thief?" Doumeki asked, crossing his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sneaking! I just..." Watanuki trailed off and looked away for a moment, trying to think of how to explain what he was doing. When he turned back, he found that Doumeki had closed the gap between them. Startled he tried to back away and slammed his back into the wall that was a few inches behind him.

Doumeki took a step back, hurt flashing in his eyes for a brief moment before his usual expression returned. "I'm not going to hurt you." A pause before he added. "Idiot."

Watanuki forced down his bubbling anger. "Look... about what I said earlier..." He started.

"You don't have to say it." Doumeki replied. "Watanuki, you've missed five years. You're adjusting. You're confused. I'm not going to take advantage of that."

"Huh?" Watanuki blinked in confusion. "Wait.... I don't understand...."

Doumeki sighed and draped his palm over his eyes. "I mean that even if you were serious this morning, I'm not going to pursue a relationship with you."

Watanuki frowned. "Well that doesn't make any sense! If I'm interested and you're interested, then why can't we give it a try?!"

He didn't know why he was so upset. He didn't know if he **was** interested. Maybe just the fact that Doumeki seemed to think it was entirely his choice bugged him, or maybe he just wanted a reason to argue. Whatever the case, he wasn't intending to let Doumeki call all the shots.

Doumeki was letting his mask slip, irritation and frustration showing on his face. "Because you're still settling into this new life! Because I don't think you should rush into a relationship so soon without thinking things through! I love you, moron! I'd rather see you happy with someone else than miserable with me!"

Watanuki felt like he'd been slapped. "Y-You know... That's actually the first time you came right out and said that..." He murmured, gaining a vaguely confused look from Doumeki. "That you.... That you l-love me, I mean..."

Doumeki stiffened, blinking. "I...."

Watanuki didn't know why, but he was suddenly laughing, loud and hard enough to cause him to double over, clutching his stomach. The laughter just kept coming as Doumeki watched him, unsure what to make of it. When the laughter finally slowed and then stopped, Watanuki straightened up and gazed steadily into Doumeki's eyes. He stepped forward, grabbed the front of Doumeki's shirt and tugged him down a bit.

He brought their lips together, kissing Doumeki firmly though not aggressively. Doumeki didn't respond, still stiff and apparently shocked. Watanuki didn't linger, pulling back once he'd accomplished what he set out to do. "You..." He murmured, "You are not the only one who gets to choose here. Stop treating me like a child or an invalid. I can take care of myself. I can make my own decisions. I-"

He was cut off as the stunned confusion in amber eyes cleared, and Doumeki brought his lips down on Watanuki's, bringing his arms around the other's waist. Watanuki brought his own arms up, hesitating a moment before sliding them around Doumeki's neck. Butterflies rose in flight from his stomach and a not-quite-so-unpleasant light-headedness came over him. He felt a bit giggly. He really didn't have a clue about what was going on; why he was doing all of this. Why he was standing here kissing Doumeki like this.

_'Because you want to.' _That inner voice chimed in. _'Because it feels good and you like it.'_

As they pulled their lips apart, Watanuki gazed upwards and swallowed hard, the growing sensation of tickling brushes inside of the flushing youth driving him to distraction.

_'Maybe he was right. Things seem to be moving so fast.... What is wrong with me? I decided I wanted this? When? Why?'_

He felt dizzy and tired. His eyes fluttered closed and he felt his legs give out beneath him. As he went limp he heard Doumeki calling to him… but he couldn't quite make out the words… and then- darkness.

* * *

This time, when he awoke, he was lying in his bed. Dr. Rondart stood beside the bed, leaning over him, stethoscope in hand. The doctor finished what he was doing before tugging the earpieces out and giving Watanuki a stern look. "You were supposed to be taking it easy."

"Everyone keeps saying that..." Watanuki replied, jokingly, but the doctor maintained a grim expression.

"It's nothing to joke about, you know. Your body hasn't been in use for five years. It's adjusted to the inactivity and it's going to be a while before you'll be back on a regular schedule. I did tell you that you'd have to gradually work towards that and not overwork yourself."

Watanuki felt guilt knot in the pit of his stomach. It must have shown because Dr. Rondart sighed and allowed a small smile to return to his face. "You need to take care of yourself. Everyone at the hospital is very fond of you, but we really don't want you to come back, you know."

"I know. I'm sorry." Watanuki murmured. He looked around, checking to see if Doumeki were there, but he wasn't.

Dr. Rondart turned around to look, confused at first but then his smile returned as he realized what Watanuki was looking for. "Oh. Your friend?"

Watanuki nodded.

"I believe he's making a few phone calls. I'll go get him for you."

Before Watanuki could protest the doctor was gone. Watanuki groaned and pulled his blanket up over his head. _'I can't believe that happened! I passed out in the middle of making out with **Doumeki**! Oh God....'_

Hearing footsteps coming closer to his room, he lowered the blanket just enough to peek over the top. Doumeki stood in the doorway, staring at him. Watanuki stared back, unsure what to say. _'It just gets more awkward between us by the day!'_

Finally, Doumeki broke the silence. "He told me you should probably stay in bed for the rest of the day. That you must have... gotten a bit too excited."

Watanuki was glad for the blanket covering most of his face as his cheeks heated up. '_I wish I didn't blush so easily! Damn!'_

"I called everyone to tell them what happened. I also told them you were okay. They wanted me to keep them posted."

"You better not have told anyone what was going on when this happened!" Watanuki found himself shouting.

Doumeki blinked and then, to Watanuki's surprise and amusement, the slightest tinge of pink came to his cheeks. He ran his hand through his short hair, looking away before he turned back and made his way across the room, sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry. If I didn't-"

"And don't act like this whole thing is your fault either!"

Doumeki leaned in and put his forehead against Watanuki's, grinning a little. "I did keep telling you to take it easy. It's your own fault."

Watanuki sighed. He was embarrassed, tired and frustrated with his weird feelings. They kept jumping all around. Some moments he really couldn't stand Doumeki and yet in others, he found himself becoming very fond of the big oaf; perhaps, that he could be even more than just fond of him. He shoved his arms out from under the covers and snaked them around Doumeki, taking him off guard.

Doumeki started to pull away. "Watanuki, you're not getting any more kisses until you've rested."

"I don't want you to kiss me, moron. I want you to stay here."

Doumeki's eyebrows shot up, but his smirk returned. "Well we're not doing **that** until you've rested either," he teased.

Watanuki let go, huffed angrily, and gave Doumeki his best glare. "Oh shut up, you pervert! You can just go now! I don't want you to stay if you're having dirty thoughts!"

Doumeki ignored him, standing up so he could tug back the covers and crawl into bed beside Watanuki. Watanuki scooted over to make room… and to put a little distance between them. His efforts proved in vain, as Doumeki quickly closed that distance, tugging Watanuki into his arms. "Goodnight, idiot."

"You're the idiot." Watanuki mumbled back, trying to get comfortable in the warm embrace as his lids slipped over drowsy eyes.

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Remember to review.


	9. Nine

Another chapter. Two more are ready and out to my beta and a third is in the works. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

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Watanuki became aware that he was snuggled against something large and warm. Then he became aware of a pair of arms wrapped securely around him. He opened his eyes, his mind still clouded with sleep, to find himself looking at Doumeki's chest. It rose and fell with each soft breath, and something about the steady rhythm of that breathing was very comforting. He felt himself smiling. _'He's really not so bad like this.'_

He really didn't want to move, but his stomach was insisting on something to eat, so he carefully untangled himself from Doumeki's arms and slipped silently out of the bed, heading for the kitchen. A glance at the clock told him that they had slept right through into the next morning. It was already six. _'I can't be getting on such a weird schedule,'_ he worried to himself as he walked to the refrigerator, stifling a yawn.

After a quick inventory check, he decided that cereal would be enough for now. He was buzzing with energy after that long rest, and while he intended to keep in mind not to overwork himself, he wanted to do something. So perhaps he could just dust or something...

When he finished his breakfast, he washed the bowl and spoon before going out in search of the feather duster. It didn't take him long to find it and then he was off dusting everything. He fell into the familiar routine and before he even realized it, he had not only dusted most of the surfaces in the house, but swept and mopped the floors as well. He had worked off most of the energy but was still too wide-awake to return to bed. A quick check of the clock informed him he'd been cleaning for nearly an hour and a half. Now, at a mere fifteen minutes to eight in the morning, with no more simple cleaning tasks to perform, he cast about for anything he could possibly do to pass the time.

He was returning to the kitchen when the phone rang. He darted to it quickly to answer it before it could wake Doumeki. "Hello?"

"Doumeki-san?" An unfamiliar male voice on the other end of the phone asked. It sounded a bit frazzled.

"No. He's still sleeping. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Taka Mizuumi."

"Would you like me to take a message?" Watanuki asked, looking about for a pen and paper.

"No. My wife asked me to call. Please, when he wakes up just tell him my wife had the baby."

Watanuki paused, realization hitting him. "Ah! Is your wife Himawari-chan?"

"Yes. Do you know her too, then?"

"Yes, I do. She had the baby? Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"

"Oh, yes. They're both fine. She just has me calling to tell everyone." For a moment the man was silent, then he gave an almost nervous chuckle. "I'm so sorry, I was so excited that I didn't even look at the clock. I'm terribly sorry if I woke you."

"No. It's fine. I was already awake." Watanuki insisted.

"Oh? Well, I have more people to call. But please let Doumeki-san know when he wakes up. And when the two of you get the chance, you should come down to see the baby. She's beautiful!"

Watanuki felt a smile warm across his face. "I'll let him know. And we'll definitely come to see her."

"Alright then. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Watanuki put the phone back down and turned. His heart leapt into his throat when he found himself face-to-chest with Doumeki. "Gah! Don't sneak up on me!"

"Who was that?"

"That was Himawari-chan's husband. She had her baby this morning!"

"I'm guessing that you want to go see?" Doumeki asked.

"Well of course I do!" Watanuki replied. "Don't you?"

"Yes. But it's pretty early still. I'd like to get breakfast and go back to bed for a while."

"Well I guess I could fix something, but didn't you get enough sleep? We went to sleep late in the afternoon yesterday!"

Doumeki smirked and brushed a strand of hair away from Watanuki's face. "Who said I wanted to sleep?"

Watanuki's eyes widened in surprise. "W-Wh-What do you mean?"

Doumeki stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him. "I mean that I like holding you. What did you think I meant?"

"Shut up." Watanuki muttered, embarrassed, tugging away. He turned and headed for the refrigerator, but Doumeki grabbed his wrist and tugged him back into the embrace, brushing his lips over Watanuki's forehead.

"I want tamago-yaki." He said.

"I've told you I don't take orders." Watanuki retorted, frowning.

But they both knew he'd make it anyway.


	10. Ten

**Probaly gonna be a while until the next one. But I don't know yet. I need to catch up on my sleep and work on my new RPG journal. So until I've at least managed to get myself on a semi-decent sleep schedule again and have filled out my new journal's BIO and posted at least once, I'm going to be taking a short breather from this. Very short, so don't worry. Just giving a little heads up since I've been posting once a week up until now. **

**In any case, enjoy the chapter!**

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They arrived at the hospital at two-thirty in the afternoon. Watanuki was bursting with energy and excitement.

They met Kohane and Akira in the waiting room, along with a tall young man with short dark hair and friendly blue eyes. He smiled upon seeing them

"Doumeki-san! Wonderful to see you again!" He exclaimed. Doumeki nodded his head in greeting. Then the young man turned his attention to Watanuki. "You must be Watanuki-san. I'm Taka Mizuumi."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Mizuumi-san!" Watanuki returned, smiling back at the man. He seemed like a good, kind man. Watanuki was happy to see that such a person was the one Himawari had chosen to spend the rest of her life with.

"I was just about to take Akira-kun and Kohane-chan to see the baby. You're just in time."

They followed the proud father to a corridor aside a large glass panel before the hospital nursery. Taka gestured to a nurse inside the room and she walked along the aisle between the cribs, until he signalled to her to let her know she had reached the right one. The nurse carefully lifted the baby into her cradling arms, and brought the tiny bundle up to the wide glass window.

"She's beautiful, Mizuumi-san," Kohane whispered adoringly, leaning closer to the window for a better view. "She looks a lot like you."

"I think she looks more like Himawari, myself." He replied, his full attention on the child on the other side of the glass panel. His eyes were glowing with happiness and pride. "We named her Ayame. Named after a flower, just like her mother."

Even Akira, who had thus far seemed a rather cold and distant young man, was gazing at the baby with wide eyes.

"Isn't she pretty, Akira-kun?" Kohane asked, jolting the young man out of his daze. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "She's kinda cute I guess..."

Watanuki was gazing at the child in awe. She really was adorable, and he couldn't help but think that, had things gone differently, she could have possibly been his own child. He brushed the thought away. Now was not the time for such things. This was how things were and wishful thinking wouldn't change anything. He glanced at Doumeki over his shoulder, and a tiny smile stole across his lips. The usually stoic young man was gazing quite fondly upon the little baby, the corners of his lips tweaked into a subdued smile.

Somehow, it made Watanuki feel that, perhaps, he was luckier that things had worked out this way.

"Watanuki-san? Doumeki-san?" Taka called, drawing Watanuki out of his thoughts.

"Mmm?"

"Himawari wanted to see you two. If you'll follow me?"

They nodded and followed him to Himawari's room. He tactfully left them at the door, allowing them to speak to his wife in private while he returned to Kohane and Akira, and baby Ayame.

Watanuki knocked and waited to be invited in before the two of them entered the room. Himawari looked her usual cheerful self, albeit still a bit tired from the miraculous ordeal.

"Have you seen her already?" She asked.

"She's beautiful, Himawari-chan." Watanuki replied, moving to sit by her bed. Doumeki stood just behind him, nodding in agreement.

"Thank you." She said. "I wanted to see you both because I wanted you both to know how happy I am to have you as my friends. I want you to know that Taka and I both want you to be a part of Ayame's life. Neither Taka nor I have any siblings, so Ayame does not have any aunts or uncles. It would mean so much to us if the both of you would be willing to be her uncles."

"Of course Himawari-chan," Watanuki earnestly agreed, "I would like that very much."

"The same goes for me." Doumeki echoed.

Himawari smiled back at them brightly. "I'm so glad."


	11. Eleven

I'm planning to start on chapter 12 soon. Since this one was already written and betad I decided to go ahead and post it.

I'm all hyped about Halloween. Hopefully I can concentrate to write. XD But even so, you may not see more until after Halloween... Though I hope not. I hope to at least have another chapter before then. In any case, enjoy~!

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Four days after their visit to the hospital for Himawari and the debut of baby Ayame, Watanuki was sitting in the kitchen reading a book when Doumeki came in and set a whole stack of textbooks on the table before him.

Watanuki looked up, curiously. "What's all this?"

"Textbooks." Doumeki answered simply, sliding into the seat across from him.

"I can see that," Watanuki grumbled, rolling his eyes as he lay his book aside. "But what for?"

"For you."

Watanuki frowned, confused. "I don't understand..."

"So you can finish high school. You can finish your studies here and take a high school equivalency test."

Watanuki's eyes widened in surprise as he lifted the top book from the stack and began flipping through it. "Finish high school...." His eyes drifted up from the page to gaze at Doumeki with a bewildered wonderment. "When did you come up with this idea?"

"Before." Doumeki answered vaguely, resting his chin on his left palm as he pointed to the book Watanuki was holding with his other hand. "If there's something you don't understand, I could help."

Watanuki frowned at both the answer and the offer. "That's not a proper answer. And quit it with the insufferable superiority complex." The retort lacked the venom it would have had four years ago, and that fact didn't escape Doumeki.

Instead of replying however, Doumeki reached across the table and grabbed the book Watanuki had been reading when he came in. "What's this? Medical book?"

"I checked it out at the library." Watanuki replied, nose now buried in one of the textbooks. "I wanted to know more about comas."

Doumeki knew what was coming before Watanuki said it.

"You know that people who go into comas.... They don't always wake up. And if they do, they can have all sorts of complications," Watanuki began. "I was reading that--"

Doumeki cut him off. "You don't have to be concerned about that. You woke up, and you're fine."

Watanuki lowered the textbook to the table slowly. The look on his face was one of a person seeking answers; confusion, and the determination to overcome it by obtaining the answers he sought. "But why? I wasn't just lucky. Not only did I wake up, but I'm in wonderful health! It shouldn't be possible." Silence stretched across a pause as Watanuki realized something he hadn't previously thought of. "Did Yuko-san do something?"

Doumeki nodded. He really hadn't wanted to go over this with Watanuki. The young man could take things and blow them completely out of proportion, and sometimes you never knew what would set him off. There was no telling what landmines he'd inadvertently trigger.

"What?" Watanuki demanded. "What exactly happened, Doumeki?"

"When you went into the coma, the doctors told all of us the facts." He nodded towards the book. "Probably all the same things you read in that book."

"And?" Watanuki pressed.

"And Yuko-San offered to help."

"What was the price?" Watanuki asked, softly. "And who paid it?"

"Myself and Kuno--Himawari." He paused for a moment. "Himawari's price was that she would not be able to visit you the entire time you were in the coma." Not the whole truth, but Watanuki would be heartbroken to know what her real price was.

"And yours?"

Doumeki had been dreading this part. He didn't know how Watanuki was going to react. "Mine was the opposite."

Watanuki was staring at him, his expression confused as he tried to figure out what Doumeki meant by this. "Yours... was to stay by my side?"

Doumeki nodded.

"Would you have stayed if it weren't your price?"

This question too, he dreaded; but he was compelled to reply.

"Back then, no." He reached across the table to take Watanuki's hand. "Being by your bedside so often... I had a lot of time to think. If it weren't my price, I probably would have eventually gone on with my life and stopped coming to see you. But because I had to stay by your side, I had time to think about what you really meant to me."

He sat there, holding on to Watanuki's hand as Watanuki looked away, trying to absorb the revelations made to him. For a moment, Doumeki had a horrible feeling that Watanuki was going to be angry, that he was going to pull away. Instead, he turned back to Doumeki and squeezed his hand gently.

Doumeki felt relief surge through him.

Watanuki released Doumeki's hand, tugging his own away as he grabbed one of the textbooks and opened it, holding it up in front of his face. "Well, I guess I'd better get to work on this. If I need any help… I guess it won't hurt if you're the one to give it to me."

His voice was a little flustered and Doumeki was, despite himself, amused to realize that Watanuki was embarrassed. It was funny. The two of them had kissed and slept in the same bed together and handholding embarrassed him? He couldn't help but smirk as he got up and made his way towards the door, only pausing long enough to flip Watanuki's book.

Watanuki's expression, when he realized he had been holding it upside down, was priceless.


	12. Twelve

Watanuki sat at the kitchen table pouring over a textbook. He turned the page, gazing down at it with his lips twisted downward in a confused frown. He'd been at it for four hours and his head felt too full to absorb anything else. With an irritated sigh, he folded his arms atop the open book and laid his head upon them. His eyes flicked to the window over the stove. It was a lovely spring day and he needed a break from studying, so why not go for a nice walk?

Deciding it with a smile, he pushed himself up out of the seat and stretched. Maybe just a short walk to the park, or maybe he'd go visit Yuko-san. Just to get out and move around. Lately, it seemed as if he spent all his time cooped up in the house, so getting out and about wouldn't hurt him, as long as he kept to walking and didn't go too far or stay out too long. In fact, he felt it would do him a world of good.

He closed the book and set it on top of the stack on the table. Gathering his reading material, Watanuki made his way to the desk in his room and deposited his burden on the sturdy oak. Pausing briefly, he grabbed an idle pen on the table and tore off a sheet from his writing pad, briskly making his way back to the kitchen, where he scribbled a quick note for Doumeki. Just in case the man returned before Watanuki did.

_Gone out for a walk. Be back soon._

_-Watanuki_

He stuck it to the fridge door with a smiley face kitchen magnet and headed out.

The warm sun felt good on his face, and the air smelled clean and fresh. It was a bit strange to realize that this would be his first time heading out on his own since he'd woken up. It still didn't feel that long ago that he'd been living an entirely different life.

Helping himself to another good lungful of the delicious air, he headed out in a direction at random, having decided he didn't need any particular destination. He made his way down the street, keeping an eye out for any wayward spirits that might see him as lunch delivery.

As he walked along, he allowed his mind to wander aimlessly from thought to thought. What would he be serving for dinner? What sorts of TV programs would be on later that might be interesting to watch? Would he curl up with Doumeki to watch them?

The idea appealed to him- quite a bit, actually.

He'd found that he liked being wrapped in Doumeki's arms, all snuggled up against him. It stirred up vague fragments of memories. He hadn't felt so safe and warm inside since his parents had taken their premature leave from this world. It wasn't exactly the same, from what Watanuki remembered of those times. His parents had made him feel peaceful and comfortable, and it was true that Doumeki had made him feel that way too. But there were other thoughts that stirred when his body curled up against Doumeki's. Thoughts he hadn't yet tried to turn into actions because they made him nervous. He'd start thinking about the sort of things they _could_be doing, and then he'd gaze into those golden eyes and his mouth would go dry. The looks Doumeki gave him sometimes! He'd always thought the man couldn't convey emotions with his face, but he'd obviously been looking at all the wrong things. He hadn't been looking _closely_.

Those smouldering amber eyes said it all, and their quiet message transfixed his body in a limp captivity, leaving him helpless. There was a _want_in Doumeki's eyes that made Watanuki go weak in the knees, and while Watanuki had been toying with the idea of going a step further in their relationship, he had the feeling that if he acted upon his impulse, there would be no return as he slipped down that icy slope.

Once you'd started, how were you supposed to slow down- let alone stop? He wasn't sure he was ready to take that risk yet, no matter how appealing it was. After all, they hadn't even ventured another kiss!

Watanuki steered himself around and started back. He'd gone quite a ways along the road and he was starting to feel his energy winding down. Besides, the sun was sinking pretty low in the sky. In any case, better not to push himself, right? He wanted to recover as soon as possible, and he didn't want to do anything that might hamper his recuperation.

Because, once he was completely better, he wouldn't have to worry about passing out at awkward times.

As he approached the gate, he saw Doumeki coming from the opposite direction, a plastic bag dangling from one hand. Smiling slightly, Watanuki picked up the pace a bit in order to meet him at the entrance. He noted, with a wry smile, the irony that the sight of Doumeki that had once stirred him to such agitation, now inspired a hurried eagerness in his steps. Though he'd only just seen Doumeki a few short hours ago, time wasn't something Watanuki took for granted now.

"Out walking?" Doumeki asked, eyes sweeping over him as though checking for any sort of injury.

Watanuki rolled his eyes. "Yes. _Just_ walking. I promise I haven't been out running a marathon or anything."

Doumeki let the sarcasm slide and made his way through the gate up towards the house, plastic bag swaying slightly in his grip. Watanuki kept up behind the man, his gaze drawn curiously towards what Doumeki carried. "What have you got there?"

Doumeki shot him a smirk over his shoulder. "You'll have to wait and see."

Intrigued by the vague answer, Watanuki continued to trail after Doumeki all the way into the kitchen, where the taller man finally turned to face him. "It's a surprise. You'll have to wait in the living room."

"Why?" Watanuki demanded, shooting the bag a suspicious glance. Doumeki didn't usually try to hide things from him.

"Like I said, it's a surprise." Doumeki repeated. "It won't take long. Just go wait in the living room."

"Fine." Watanuki gave in, turning around as he headed for the living room. "But it'd better be something good."

True to his word, it didn't take Doumeki long to join Watanuki. Watanuki was sprawled on the couch surfing through the channels for something to watch, when Doumeki entered carrying two plates of take-out. Watanuki gave him a bemused look as he sat up, turning the TV off. "Fast food? That's your big surprise?"

"Not exactly." Doumeki answered, setting the plates down on the coffee table. "I wanted something quick tonight."

He turned and headed back out before Watanuki could ask why. It wasn't normal for Doumeki to think about something he could eat _quickly_. He had never known Doumeki to be particular about how fast a meal could be gotten through with.

Doumeki returned shortly with a bottle of wine and two glasses, setting them down beside the take-out.

"Doumeki, what's this all about?" Watanuki questioned warily.

"Have you bothered to look at a calendar lately?" Doumeki returned. He clicked a small lamp on a side-table on, and turned the lights overhead out. "No candles, so that'll have to do." He added.

"Calendar? Why? What's today?" Watanuki asked, blinking in confusion as Doumeki settled down beside him on the couch.

"April first."

"Oh?" Watanuki watched Doumeki open the wine bottle and pour it into the glasses. "And you wanted a quick meal on my birthday because...?"

"Because after we eat I'll be able to focus entirely on you."

Watanuki shoved him gently on the shoulder. "Don't be a sap."

Doumeki held one of the wine glasses out to him and he took it. Butterflies fluttered wildly in Watanuki's stomach. If the take-out was any indication, Doumeki didn't seem to know much about romance, but he did appear to be making the effort, and the clumsy determination brought a thrill that no expertly prepared candlelight dinner could. Even so, Watanuki couldn't keep the earlier dread from casting a foreboding shadow over his stirring interest. Was Doumeki having those dangerous thoughts too? Did he intend to act on them tonight? What was he supposed to do if _that_was what Doumeki had in mind?

He glanced at the bottle of wine, all too conscious that his heart had begun to race. Maybe Doumeki's words hadn't been sappy at all.

_"I'm being paranoid. Even if that's what he has in mind, I can cross that bridge when I get to it."_

He could only ignore the nagging voice at the back of his mind as it countered his hasty reasoning.

_"What if by then you're already on the bridge, and it's burning up behind you fast?"_

He turned his attention to dinner, which Doumeki had already helped himself to.

They ate in silence, which wasn't unusual, but was nevertheless awkward for Watanuki because his mind wouldn't leave him in peace for two seconds. If Doumeki noticed his discomfort, he didn't mention it. It was a quick meal, just as Doumeki had wanted, yet to Watanuki, the minutes had passed with excruciating reluctance. He had already downed three glasses of wine and was reaching for the bottle to pour a fourth, when Doumeki caught his shaking hand.

"Why are you so nervous?" He asked, tugging gently on the captured hand to draw Watanuki to face him.

"I'm n-not nervous." Watanuki replied, privately cursing his stuttering. "I-I'm actually anxious. To know what you have planned- to c-c-celebrate my birthday, I mean."

Doumeki peered intently into Watanuki's eyes for a moment, as though he searched them for some hidden concern. Then he leaned in and kissed the birthday boy. Not a long kiss, nor a rushed peck, but somewhere in between. When he pulled back, he released Watanuki's hand to gently touch the side of his lover's face. "I didn't plan anything big. I couldn't even think of what to get you. I just want to spend this time with you."

Watanuki reached up and covered Doumeki's hand with his own, pressing his cheek into it and closing his eyes. It was so obvious to him now that Doumeki was still thinking only of his health. Maybe Doumeki's mind did go down _that_ road, but still, he wasn't going to act on it. He was waiting, patiently, as he always had.

Doumeki was so unselfish. Giving and giving without ever asking anything in return. How had he failed to notice that admirable quality before?

Watanuki removed his hand from Doumeki's, opening his eyes as he leaned forward to wrap his arms around Doumeki's neck. He pressed his lips firmly against Doumeki's, and Doumeki responded in kind, bringing his own arms to rest comfortably around Watanuki's waist. Watanuki ran his tongue slowly along Doumeki's lower lip, until he was granted access.

As his mouth seized upon the invitation, Watanuki held Doumeki's nape with one hand, running the other down the strong back. He slipped his roaming hand up against the front of Doumeki's shoulder, before sliding it down along the deep rhythm of the man's chest, between their warming bodies, gradually trailing down to Doumeki's stomach.

Doumeki reached down and caught the hand before it could go any lower, breaking the kiss himself. "Watanuki..."

"Relax." Watanuki murmured reassuringly, as much for his own benefit as for Doumeki's. Gently freeing his hand, he rested his palm against Doumeki's shoulder again, trying to coax his lover down. "Please. Just for now, don't worry about me."

Doumeki seemed reluctant, but he finally relented, lowering against the couch's armrest. Watanuki leaned over him, reaching past Doumeki's lingering concern to click the lamp off.

* * *

Watanuki turned to lay a gentle kiss upon the bare neck just beneath him. He could hardly believe what he'd just done. His mind was reeling, in a giddy, faintly accomplished sort of way. Despite the fact that he hadn't tended to his own needs, a pleasant sense of satisfaction mingled with the fading adrenalin that still hummed within his blood. After all that Doumeki had done for him, he could finally show how much it meant to him.

"It's _your _birthday..." Doumeki murmured. "This should have been the other way around..."

"No." Watanuki mumbled back, nuzzling against Doumeki's neck and smiling weakly as his exertions finally exacted their toll. "I wanted to do this."

If Doumeki replied, Watanuki didn't hear him. He was fast asleep and drifting rapidly into peaceful dreams.


	13. Thirteen

**Long hiatus is long... I'm sorry, everyone. I know I've been posting one-shots lately when I have this waiting. But because I had to change course on this fic's direction I needed to regain my inspiration. Life has not been fun lately. But I'm back now. With news that this story is now finished. It was originally going to be a lot longer, but I had to drop some plans due to RL stuff. I couldn't bring myself to do what I planned after certain events at the beginning of the year. And also, since then more things have occurred that prevent me from going through with my plans. So this is the final chapter. I hope that you enjoy it and forgive me for my change of heart.**

* * *

Watanuki never would have imagined that his life would turn out this way. But all in all, he couldn't really complain. He was surprisingly happy with his life, and with whom he'd chosen to share it with.

He supposed that from an outsider's perspective they didn't really look happy for the most part. Doumeki could still be an annoying guy when he wanted, and Watanuki still reacted to his teasing with all the sweetness of a wet cat.

Yet it was in the little things that he discovered the most joy. Simple, silly little things. Like Doumeki's complete lack of romance. Somehow, it was endearing to watch him fumble with anything and everything related to seduction.

_"You're not so perfect after all, you big idiot." Watanuki would tease, often right before stealing a kiss. _

_"I can be perfect. Just let me work on it." Doumeki answered one time. _

_Watanuki had swatted him irritably. "Don't you dare!"_

They had been officially in a relationship for nearly a year now- although they'd only actually announced it to everyone three weeks ago. Not that their announcement had actually surprised everyone. Those closest to them had been able to read the signs for themselves.

_"It's about time you fess up." Yuko stated, lounging in the shade beneath a tree in her backyard. "We were considering starting a pool on how long you'd take to admit it." _

_"I'm glad we didn't have the chance. My money would have been on another two months." Taka admitted, only half-teasing. _

_"I would have thought at least four." Himawari replied, lifting Ayame into her arms. _

_"You mean you **knew**?!" Watanuki exclaimed, suprised. _

_"Watanuki-Kun, anyone who saw the two of you together could tell." Kohane informed him._

Watanuki had finally finished high school, no thanks to Doumeki. Studying with his boyfriend had been anything but easy. Most days he had to chase him out of the room if he wanted to get any work done. When he graduated, Yuuko had thrown a party. He'd been surprised to find that she'd managed to get herself a little tipsy at the event, and reacted to her claims of 'lowering my daily liquor consumption' with complete incredulity.

In a private moment, she'd pulled him aside to explain to him that all of his hard work at her shop had been part of the price used to save him, and that if he still desired his original wish, he'd have to start from scratch. Watanuki had turned her down. His plans were taking him in a different direction- Doumeki had convinced him to try his hand at cooking professionally.

That had landed him with a position in a restaurant owned by a friend of Yuko's. He planned to get his own restaurant in the future, but that was a ways off for now.

Himawari and Taka often let Watanuki watch Ayame when the need for a babysitter arouse.

_"Your sure you don't mind?" Himawari asked, concernedly as she shifted her child into Watanuki's arms._

_"I never mind. She's a little angel." Watanuki replied, cuddlying the little girl against his chest and earning some happy baby gibberish in return._

_"Not always. Just yesterday she gummed my paycheck until it was wet a soggy!" Taka said with a laugh that suggested he found the incident more adorable and endearing than anything else._

Sometimes Doumeki would try to help out with this task. But usualy he just watched from afar.

_Doumeki stood, leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching Watanuki feed Ayame in her highchair. She was getting more food on herself than in her mouth. But she was burbling happilly, and Watanuki had a bright smile on his face._

_"You look really happy when your with her." Doumeki commented._

_"She's so cute! I can't help but smile just looking at her!" Watanuki replied, wiping baby food off her tiny hands with a rag._

_"Yeah. But you look like your enjoying playing mommy."_

_"Don't you mean 'daddy'?" Watanuki asked, shooting him vaguely annoyed look._

_Doumeki ignored this. "You ever think about kids of your own?"_

_Watanuki looked suprised. "W-well... I guess. Sometimes. But..."_

_"But we're both guys, right?" Doumeki asked, reading his lover's expression. "You think kids aren't an option?"_

_"They aren't." Watanuki answered, setting the rag aside and lifting Ayame from her chair._

_"They are. There's always adoption."_

_Watanuki was silent for a moment. Then he turned and carried Ayame past Doumeki, kissing him on the cheek as he went by. "Even so, I don't think either of us is ready for full-time parenthood."_

Watanuki was happy with where his life was. He could no longer look on his lost years with regret. Sometimes he felt that the missing time was his price for his current life. Would he be where he was today without that event in his life? You never could tell. He couldn't imagine himself in any life other than the one he now lived.

The future was uncertain. But at least he knew what this moment in time held for him. And that's all anyone could ask for.

_**"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,  
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,  
May you never take one single breath for granted,  
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,  
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,  
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,  
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,  
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance  
I hope you dance."---"I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack**_


End file.
